Ben Kavanagh (born 4 March 1988) is a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a for Halifax in the

Betfred Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in England, ...

Background

Kavanagh was born in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

, England.

Career

Kavanagh initially joined Widnes on loan from

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in 2008. He scored two tries in 21 appearances for the Widnes club, and joined the club permanently at the end of the season, signing a three-year contract. He went on to make 72 consecutive appearances for the club, and was the first player to be given a Super League contract by Widnes when they were granted a licence for the 2012 season. Kavanagh is a

international, and was named in their squad for the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

as a replacement for the injured

Keith Galloway Keith Galloway (born 2 September 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers in the NRL, and the Leeds Rhinos i ...

. On 7 May 2014, Kavanagh committed to playing for Widnes for two more years. In October and November 2014, Kavanagh played in the

2014 European Cup The 2014 European Cup was an international rugby league football tournament. The tournament took place in England, Wales, France, Ireland and Scotland between 17 October and 2 November. It was announced beforehand that the winner of the tournamen ...

competition. He played in all of Scotland's games and scored a try in their fixture against France. In October and November 2015, Kavanagh played in the

2015 European Cup The 2015 European Cup was an international rugby league football tournament. The tournament took place between 16 October and 7 November in Wales, France, Scotland and Ireland. Scotland were the defending champions. Four teams competed in the 20 ...

competition. Kavanagh signed a two-year Deal with the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

following the 2015 season. Kavanagh featured in the pre-season friendlies against

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

and

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

. In January 2017, it was revealed that Kavanagh had signed a two-year deal to play for

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

. In 2019, he joined Halifax. In September 2020, he signed a one-year contract extension with Halifax.

References

External links

Hull Kingston Rovers profile
*
Profile
at rugby.widnes.tv
2017 RLWC profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Ben 1988 births Living people Bradford Bulls players English people of Scottish descent English rugby league players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Rugby league props Scotland national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire Wakefield Trinity players Widnes Vikings players